Anyway, I can try anything it's the same circle that leads to nowhere and I'm tired now.
Anyway, I've lost my face, my dignity, my look, everything is gone and I'm tired now.
But don't be scared, I found a good job and I go to work every day on my old bicycle you loved.

I am piling up some unread books under my bed and I really think I'll never read again.
No concentration, just a white disorder everywhere around me, you know I'm so tired now.
But don't worry I often go to dinners and parties with some old friends who care for me, take me back home and stay.

Mochrome floors, monochrome walls, only abscence near me, nothing but silence around me.
Monochrome flat, monochrome life, only abscence near me, nothing but silence around me.

Sometimes I search an event or something to remind me, but I've really got nothing in mind.
Sometimes I open the windows and listen people walking in the down streets. There is a life out there.
But don't be scared, I found a good job and I go to work every day on my old bicycle you loved.

Anyway, I can try anything it's the same circle that leads to nowhere and I'm tired now.
Anyway, I've lost my face, my dignity, my look, everything is gone and I'm tired now.
But don't worry I often go to dinners and parties with some old friends who care for me, take me back home and stay.

Mochrome floors, monochrome walls, only abscence near me, nothing but silence around me.
Monochrome flat, monochrome life, only abscence near me, nothing but silence around me.

13 Comments

General CommentThis beautiful song clearly depicts a man who is depressed and desparate. It also comments on the mundane life, how when one is depressed people go "Oh but you have a good job and good friends", yet this is obviously not sufficiant for somebody to get out of their depression nor is it the reason why somebody could get out of depression since there are untouchable things in this life that are far more important than "a good job and good old friends".

General CommentThis is such a wonderfully articulated description of depression. I like that it isn't clichéd - that he's not talking about the pain he's in or how unhappy he is, just that everything's blank and meaningless to him; a 'white disorder'. It's not so much a negative song as a totally neutral and apathetic one.

I like the details: the books piling up under his bed; his 'old bicycle you loved' (who is 'you'?). I get the feeling he's trying to pretend he's fine, and going along with his old life, but it doesn't mean anything to him any more.

The repetition that's often present in Yann Tiersen's work (inevitable given that he's influenced by minimalism, which is typically very repetitive) is especially effective in this song, I think - the man's life is circular and mundane, and it's reflected nicely in the structure.

I like this song more for not being in wholly fluent English - it's refreshing, and stops it from falling into hackneyed phrases.

General CommentWhenever I hear this song, I imagine a man standing near a grave, "talking" to someone that died, perhaps his wife. (hence the depression and the overall "grayness")
He's telling her that everything is alright and that she doesn't have to worry about anything.
As Tleilaxu said, this song is open to many interpretations. :P

General Commentjust downloaded a couple dozen of his songs or so, and this is so far the best. i can't describe why because i haven't gotten his key points i like down into proper syntax yet, but it just flows and totally satisfies me emotionally.

instead of just writing personal anecdotes i'll actually follow the guidelines for this site in the first place. and with that being said..

the firsthalf, to me, sounds like a kind of an empty, lost path fo thought that's he's slipped into because of recent break up swift change ofsurroundings or feelings or whatever, and he recognizes this but does nothing to apprently change it, while making clear to point out to whoever he's speaking to that they shouldn't worry about him (like it was partly of their concern and fault)

and the second part seems like he admits however briefly that he is stuck in this sort of melancholy state and makes futile efforts to get out of it and have a little passion towards something in his life again.
i don't know. i wish there were more comments to reflect on.

General Commenti get the impression that the song simply about a man that has given up on life, but is not willing to take the ultimate step to end it, and instead comforts himself with what he does have.
i agree that the second half is more hopeful, at least he is doing things rather than sitting on his bed. It doesn't matter though, the circle continues...

General CommentThis is such a wonderfully articulated description of depression. I like that it isn't clichéd - that he's not talking about the pain he's in or how unhappy he is, just that everything's blank and meaningless to him; a 'white disorder'. It's not so much a negative song as a totally neutral and apathetic one.

I like the details: the books piling up under his bed; his 'old bicycle you loved' (who is 'you'?). I get the feeling he's trying to pretend he's fine, and going along with his old life, but it doesn't mean anything to him any more.

The repetition that's often present in Yann Tiersen's work (inevitable given that he's influenced by minimalism, which is typically very repetitive) is especially effective in this song, I think - the man's life is circular and mundane, and it's reflected nicely in the structure.

I like this song more for not being in wholly fluent English - it's refreshing, and stops it from falling into hackneyed phrases.

General CommentHe does seem very depressed. However, as User tonightwefly states, he talks about a 'You' in the song. A lot of people would think he's talking about someone else. My first thought was maybe a loved one of some sort:

He states, "But don't be scared, I found a good job and I go to work every day on my old bicycle you loved."

and

"But don't worry I often go to dinners and parties with some old friends who care for me, take me back home and stay."

However, he also states that he has a Monochrome (meaning black and white or grayscale) life, house, and states how everything in life is just overall very gray scale. So this would raise the question of why he's alone?

I think he's talking to either an ex-lover of some sort or maybe he's gone through a divorce and is referring to his daughter that's in the ex-wifes custody? - "bicycle you loved". He could also be talking about his mother who is worried about him and how he's getting on with his life when he lives alone and has so few friends.

General CommentI think its someone who is deeply depressed by their daily routine, someone who longs for love and good friends that hang out with him, maybe he moved away to study or to work in another city.
The person he addresses could be a variety of persons: mother/father, a good old friend or an exgirlfriend.
he wants help, but doesnt want to sound desperate or as depressed as he really is. the whole song is saying "yes thanks i'm fine", but with a really sad expression on the face.

My InterpretationI would agree to skalpel - he could be talking to a person he loved and that recently died. Probably his girlfriend or wife.

For me this gets very clear as he says 'But don't be scared, I found a good job and I go to work every day on my old bicycle you loved.'
Though she/he is dead, he still wants to assure her he's alright and everything's going on fine and she doesn't need to be scared. Also, he seems to have had a very close and deep relation with her, because he kind of pretends there still is a part of her alive that listens to him, that maybe even responds to him.

But other interpretations are possible, too, of course.

Btw: Another great song which is lyrically pretty much alike this one is the german song 'Nur zu Besuch' by 'Die Toten Hosen' - you can(of course^^) find it here on songmeanings even with an english translation right in the first comment:songmeanings.net/songs/view/146128/